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This chapter outlines and assesses the principal normative arguments that have been made for and against compulsory electoral participation. These claims fall into three principal categories: arguments relating to rights and duties, legitimacy and collective rationality arguments, and evaluations of the practical consequences of making electoral participation mandatory. After reviewing these arguments, the chapter then summarises the empirical claims made by normative theorists whose main objective is to test these claims.

This chapter outlines and assesses the principal normative arguments that have been made for and against compulsory electoral participation. These claims fall into three principal categories: arguments relating to rights and duties, legitimacy and collective rationality arguments, and evaluations of the practical consequences of making electoral participation mandatory. After reviewing these arguments, the chapter then summarises the empirical claims made by normative theorists whose main objective is to test these claims.